Univox (brief company history here) was a US company that marketed a huge range of musical products in the late 60s and into the early 80s.    Most famous is their ‘Hi-Flier’ electric guitar, aka, not-an-actual-Mosrite, aka, one of the iconic Kurt Cobain guitars.

They also made tube amplifiers, some of which actually sound pretty great, and distributed several synth instruments and drum machines which are believed to have been built by KORG in Japan.  Their Compac-Piano (no resemblance to the sound of an actual piano) was apparently of Italian origin.  Here’s a few period adverts for these oddballs.  These were all sold in large numbers and are still fairly readily available for a reasonable price.

Edgar Winter with the Compac-Piano

Univox Mini-Korg analog preset synth

Univox Pace Ship Drum Machine

A few electronic-drumming odds and ends today from various issues of MUSICIAN magazine circa the mid 1980’s  (see here for previous MUSICIAN mag coverage on PS dot com).  Sampling drum machines, electronic drum kits, and live cymbal-effects processing were all new technologies at the time, and like all things 80s, they were delivered in a bright, bold, technology-YES manner.  Put down that snare drum.  Don’t be a square. Come on.

Simmons SDS8 electronic kit.  “Our mission (is) to bring drums into the 80s.”  

The Linn 9000 drum machine.  Linn was the first company to make drum machines that played back ROM (read-only-memory) samples of actual recordings of acoustic drum hits rather than simply triggering analog synthesis circuits that made ‘drum sounds.’  By the 1990s you could not buy a new analog drum machine, and the ‘Rompler’ drum machine was industry standard, but Linn was a true innovator at the time and these things were crazy expensive, making them relatively uncommon today.

Zildjian cymbal miking system circa 1987.  Let’s say you are a family who has been making cymbals for, oh, 400 years.  All of sudden this new technology (sampling, synthesis) comes along which COULD make your product obsolete.  Better get in the game, buddy.  Basically a set of electret-condenser mics that clip to cymbal stands combined with a small mixer with effect loops.  “Flange your ride cymbal at the same time you add a slapback echo on your hi hats.”

And in case you were wondering what Digidesign was doing prior to Changing-The-World with its Pro Tools digital audio recording/editing/mixing/processing software/hardware systems, well, here you have it.  Digidesign presents: Digidrums!  New ROM chips that you can stick inside your drum machine and get news sounds outta them!  Make your drum machine sound more like real drums!   And 18 years later Digidesign gives us…. Beat Detective!  Make the drummer sound like a drum machine!  Man vs Robot, the epic battle unfolds so slowly…

The Komplete Kustom lineup from their sadder post-Naugahyde era.  See this link for a detailed discussion of the earlier, more iconic Kustom pieces.

The Powerhouse Rhythm Unit, an infinite-loop tape cartridge playback system designed to do the work of a drum machine.

The WMS Interphaser, a phase-shift pedal from a small maker.

Nothing too exciting today…  just a few odds and ends that caught my eye.